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Class 1_ 

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Copyright ]»i". 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 




EXCURSION 

PLANNED FOR THE 

CITY HISTORY CLUB 



OF 



NEW YORK 

BY 

FRANK BERGEN KELLEY, A. M., Ph. D. 

No. V— THE NINETEENTH CENTURY CITY: 
14th 5TREET TO iioth STREET. 

PRICE, 5 CENTS. 

flailed on receipt of price by Secretary, City History Club, 
23 W. 44th Street. 



Copyright, 1905, by the City History Club of New York. 



CoUr:ctc^ set. 



LIBRARY of C 


JONeRESS 


Two Copies 


rteceJvca 


FtB iJV 


1905 


X.SS a, XXc No. 

/DG99^ 

COPY B. 






V 



The City History Club of New York was founded in 1896, partly to 
awaken interest in the traditions of the City. To that end a series of his- 
torical excursions was planned which, from time to time, it has been found 
necessary to revise in order (i) to correct blunders due to misinformation, 
of which even standard books on New York history are full; (2) to keep 
pace with the march of improvements whereby the topography of the City 
is constantly changing; and (3) to add material as new light is shed on the 
past and as new tablets and monuments are erected to mark historic sites. 

Interest in City history has been awakened since the organization of the 
Club, and many writers have devoted their time to research and description 
of life in old New York. The following books will be most helpful to those 
beginning the study of local history: Todd's " Story of New York" (Put- 
nam); Goodwin's " Historic New York " (two bound volumes composed 
of 24 monographs, "The Half Moon Series,") which may be pur- 
chased separately (Putnam); Hemstreet's " Literary Landmarks of New 
York" (Putnam); Janvier's " In Old New York" (Harper); Hemstreet's 
"Nooks and Corners of Old New York "; "When Old New York Was 
Young" (Scribner); Innes' "New Amsterdam and Its People" (Scrib- 
ner); Ulmann's " Landmark History of New York" (Appleton); R. R.Wil- 
son's "New York Old and New" (Lippincott); reproductions of noted 
historical maps and pictures of old New York (Dunreath Publishing Co., 
46 Wall St.). August R. Ohman, 97-101 Warren St., pubHshes the best 
modern maps of New York. See also the list of Club publications on 
page 18. The Club Plan of the English Period would aid in locating old 
roads and the shore line. 

The works of Hemstreet, Janvier, Wilson and Ulmann (as above) and 
the following additional books are of value for this excursion : Mines' 
" Felix Oldboy's Tour Around New York," especially the chapter " My 
Summer Acre "; Greatorex' "Old New York"; Valentine's "Manual of 
the Common Council of New York"; Tolman and Hemstreet's "The 
Better New York " ; Alden's " Manhattan Historic and Artistic"; Apple- 
ton's " Dictionary of New York and Vicinity." 

The N. Y. Historical Society is about to publish an interesting illus- 
trated series of lectures by members on " The Old Villages of Manhattan." 

The City History Club would greatly appreciate corrections and addi- 
tions to the points covered in this excursion, especially if authorities are 
quoted. As a rule only existing landfnarks are mentioned. 

Object. — " The City History Club has for its object the study of the his- 
tory of the City of New York, in the hope of awakening an interest in its 
traditions and in the possibilities of its future, such educational work being 
for the improvement, uplifting and civic betterment of the community. " 



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(Alapted from i.ooo foot s^ale map of Manhattan, by courtesy of August 
R. Ohn^an, Map Publisher and Engineer, 97 Warren St., N. Y. City ) 



Section I : Union Square and Vicinity. 

(The numbers in Sections I, II, and III refer to the map, p. 4.) 

1. Union Square : designated as " Union Place" by the Commissioners 
of the City Plan, who in 1 807-11 laid out the city on the "checker-board 
system." The square (3I acres) was formally laid out in 1832 through the 
agency of Samuel B. Ruggles. 

The fountain dates from 1842, when the Croton water was introduced 
into the city. 

The bronze equestrian statue of Washington, copied from Houdon, 
was erected by city merchants at the spot where Washington was received 
by the citizens on Evacuation Day, November 25, 1783, and was dedicated 
July 4, 1856. This is the oldest public statue in the city which stands in 
its original place, and was the work of Henry K. Brown. 

Near the statue there was held in 1861 a great war meeting in response 
to Lincoln's call for troops. Facing it is the statue of Lafayette, modelled 
by Bartholdi and presented in 1876 to the city by French residents as a 
token of gratitude for American sympathy in the Franco-Prussian War. 

At the southwest corner See the bronze statue of Lincoln, by H. K. 
Brown, and erected by popular subscription under the auspices of the 
Union League Club about 1866. 

. (West of Union Square.) 

2. Van Buren House, 21 West 14th street (built about 1855), one 
of the last private residences on this block and the second homestead of 
the Spingler estate, which occupied the region around Union Square. 

3. Crug-er Mansion, 126-130 West 14th street, between Sixth and 
Seventh avenues, once the home of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

4. Paisley Place or Weavers' Row, a double row of rear wooden 
houses entered by alleys at 112-120 West i6th street and ii2-i2oWest 
17th street. They were built about 1822 to accommodate Scotch Weavers 
from Paisley who fled to this part of the city to escape yellow fever. 

5. 60 West Thirteenth Street — (occupied 1897 -1905 by the Dewitt 
Clmton High School) — famous as the " old 13th Street School," once under 
the principalship of Dr. Hunter, whose graduates have formed the Thomas 
Hunter Asssociation. 

At 36 West 13th street and 43-45 West 12th street see in the oblique 
walls of the buildings, traces of the old Union Road, which originally 
connected Skinner Road (the continuation of Christopher street) at 33 
West nth street (see old rear house), with the Southampton Road at 



15th street and Seventh avenue (see p. 9). Note the lines of these roads 
and of Manetta Brook on Map No. i (see Excursion II). 

6. N. T. Society Library at 107 University Place (12th St.), the 
oldest public library in America, established in 1700 in the English City 
Hall by Gov. Bellomont, incorporated 1754 as the City Library and char- 
tered by George III, 1772, as the N. Y. Society Library. The present 
building was erected in 1856. See sun-dial, Roman jar and marble seat 
in Grace churchyard, loth Street and Broadway. 

(East of Union Square.) 

7. Academy of Music was erected at 14th Street and Irving Place in 
1854, rebuilt in 1868, and was the home of American Opera until the 
erection of the INIetropolitan Opera House in 1883. 

8. Washingrton Irving-'s last city home, S.W. corner of Irving Place 
and 17th Street. Horace Greeley lived at 35 E. 19th Street, and the Cary 
sisters at 53 E. 20th Street. 

9. Oramercy Park, old Crom-messje or Crummassie Vly (Crooked 
Knife Valley), so called from the shape of the old farm in the valley of 
Cedar Creek, which formed a pond at Madison Square and emptied into 
the East River at i8th Street. In 1780 "Gramercy Seat " was the 20-acre 
farm of James Duane, and later became the property of Samuel B. Ruggles, 
who in 1 831 gav^e the park land to the owners of the 66 adjoining lots on 
the condition that each contribute $io.oo per year for the maintenance of 
the park which was laid out in 1840. See the tablet set in the sidewalk 
near the west gate. Samuel J. Tilden lived at 14-15 E. 20th Street in a 
house famous for its sculptured front. Theodore Roosevelt was born at 
28 E. 20th Street. 

Section II : Madison Square and vicinity. 

10. Madison Square (6 acres) was formed by the junction of the Old 
Post Road and the Bloomingdale Road. The Old Post Road followed 
the line of Park Row and Bowery to Cooper Union, then up 4th 
Avenue (see Excursion III) to Madison Square, at the S.W. corner of 
which the Bloomingdale Road branched off, following the line of Broad- 
way to Kingsbridge. The Old Post Road crossed the site of Madison 
Square diagonally (see C. H. C, Plan of New York in the English Period) 
between the present double row of trees (seen from the fountain, looking 
north) to Madison Avenue, Crossing 3rd Avenue between 42d and 43d 
Streets it ran to 2d Avenue, crossing it at 52d Street (at Cato's Road 
House) and again at 63d Street. It crossed 3d Avenue at 65th and 77th 
Streets and 4th Avenue at 85th Street, and thence ran through Central 



Park to Harlem, its west branch joining the Bloomingdale Road. A 
monthly post to Boston was established in 1673 by Gov. Lovelace. 

The Potters' Field was in Madison Square, between 1794-7. The 
square was originally planned as a "Parade," to extend from 23rd to 34th 
Streets and from 3rd to 7th Avenues, but was laid out in its present dimen- 
sions m 1845. See bronze statues of Roscoe Conklin, by J. Q. A. Ward, 
189^; Wm. H. Seward, by Rogers, 1876; Chester A. Arthur, by Bissell, 
1899; and Admiral Farragut, by St. Gaudens, erected by the Farragut 
Memorial Association. The small drinking fountain was given by Miss 
Catharine Wolfe and the large one by Mrs. O. E. P. Stokes. 

11. Worth Monument, by St. Gaudens, erected 1857 at the junction of 
5th Ave., Broadway and 25th Street, by the corporation of the city, to honor 
Maj. Gen. Worth, who distinguished himself in the Mexican War. His 
body rests beneath the monument. On the site stood the U. S. Arsenal 
( 1 797-1 825), used later as the first House of Refuge. 

12. Fifth Avenue Hotel, erected 1856-8 by Amos R. Eno on the site 
of Corporal Thompson's Inn, " Madison Cottage " (1833-53). Eno bought 
the triangular block opposite (site of Flatiron Building) for $25,000 in 
1862 ; it is now valued at $1,000,000. 

13. Madison Square Garden (opened 1890), on the site of the old Har- 
lem. R. R, Station, later a hippodrome. See within, near the Tower ele- 
vator, the 3rd milestone which marked the distance on the Old Post 
Road. 

(Points east of Madison Square.) 

14. College of the City of New York, established in 1848-9, at Lex- 
ington Ave. and 23rd Street as the Free Academy and chartered as a college 
in 1866. See within the tablet to honor the graduates who died in the 
Civil War. The College will soon move to its new site at W. 138th Street. 

1 5. Bull's Head Tavern, n. w. corner 3rd Ave. and 24th Street, third of 
the name (see Excursions I. and in.), built about 1826 by Thos. Swift and 
owned for years by " Uncle Dan'l " Drew, of steamboat fame. It was the 
headquarters of the drovers and butchers of New York until 1848, when 
the cattle market was moved to 42nd Street. The region between 23rd and 
27th Streets and 2nd and 4th Aves. was known as Bull's Head Village, and 
was part of the old Rose Hill Farm. 

See gate and wall of the old House of Refuge at the entrance to a coal 
yard on the north side of 23rd Street, between ist Avenue and Avenue 
A, to which site the institution was moved from Madison Square in 1839. 

The Belle Tue Farm was at 26th Street, along the East River. The city 
hospital was moved herein 18 10 from the neighborhood of City Hall Park. 



8 

together with the penitentiary and almshouse, the last two being later re- 
moved to Blackwell's Island. The first ambulance service in the world 
was inaugurated in 1869 by this hospital. 

16. Peter Cooper's Honse was moved in 1820 from the site of the 
Bible House to 28th Street and 4th Avenue, where it still stands. From this 
eorner the Middle Road branched out to the north. The Fourth Avenue 
Tunnel was built under Murray Hill in 1837 to accommodate the first 
horsecar line in the world, running from Harlem to Chambers Street. 

(Points north of Madison Square.) 

17. Church of the Transfiguration, called " The Little Church around 
the Corner." at 5 East 29th Street, was opened in 1856. From this church 
have been buried Wallack, Booth and Boucicault. See the famous " Lich 
€^ate" and memorial window to Edwin Booth. 

18. Marble Collegiate Reformed Church, 29th Street and 5th Avenue, 
dedicated 1854. See tablet commemorating its succession to the old 
Church in the Fort and the bell in the yard, which originally hung in the 
old North Church. See also bell mentioned on p. 10. 

(Points west of Madison Square.) 

19. Schermerhorn Mansion, 49 West 23rd Street, the last old private 
residence on the block. When erected, the population of New York was 
700,000, stages still ran on Broadway, horsecars were in common use, the 
Harlem R. R. ran trains to White and Centre Streets and the Hudson 
River R. R. ran passenger trains to Varick Street. 

20. Masonic Temple, erected 1867, holds the Bible on which Washing- 
ton took the oath of office in 1789; it is in the custody of St. John's Lodge 
No. I. 

Tablet at 5 West 22nd Street, to mark the site of the home of Prof. S. 
F. B. Morse. 

The Buckhorn Tavern stood at 22nd Street and Broadway. 

Section HI : Love Lane and Chelsea Village. 

A. Love Lane and Traces of the Old Roads. 

The Abingdon Road (named for the Earl of Abingdon, Sir Peter War- 
ren's son-in-law), or ''Love Lane" (so called because a favorite drive)» 
originally followed the line of West 21st Street from the Bloomingdale 
Road to a point east of 8th Avenue, where it turned n. w. to Chelsea. It 
was met just east of 6th Avenue by the Southampton Road, east of 7th 
Avenue by the Warren Road ; east of 8th Avenue it crossed the Fitzroy 
Road (which ran from 15th to 42d streets) and east of 9th Avenue, prob- 



ably ran a fourth road — all of which roads connected with the great Kills 
Road, which followed the line of Gansevoort Street, extended to i6th Street 
east of 7th Avenue (see lines of roads on Map No. i). 

All of the above country roads may yet be traced by existing alley- 
ways, rear buildings and oblique walls paralleling their original lines. 

Traces of Loye Lane may be seen on W. 21st Street at Nos. 25-27, 
the n. e. corner of 6th'Avenue, Nos. 250-252, and the s. w. corner of 8th 
Avenue. See also 

22. Beth Haim, near the n. w, corner of 6th Avenue, — the third 
oldest Jewish graveyard (1830), following the cemeteries at Chatham 
Square (Excursion III) and nth Street (Excursion II). 

Traces of the Southampton Road are found at 112-116 W. 17th 
Street and 11 5-1 19 W. 16th Street. (Paisley Place, see p. 5). 

Traces of the Warren Road are at 148 W. 19th Street, 155-157 W. 
1 8th Street and 154 W. 17th Street. 

Traces of the Fitzroy Road remain at 254 W. 20th Street, 254 W. i8th 
Street and at 246-250-252 W. 17th Street. 

Traces of a fourth road appear at 341 W. 21st Street, 346 and 368-370 
W. i8th Street, 352-354 W. 17th Street, 352-354 and 357 W. i6th Street, 
366 W. 15th Street and 112 9th Avenue (See 28, p. 10). 

Traces of the Great Kills (Kiln) Road are found in the oblique wall 
at the n. w. corner of 15th Street and 7th Avenue and the wall of St. 
Joseph's Honie. 

Quaint houses, some with oriel windows and newel posts, many of 
them reached through alley-ways, survive on 20th Street between 8th and 
9th Avenues, at 200 W. 19th Street, on i8th Street, between 7th and 8th 
Avenues and 1 6th and 17th Streets, between 6th and 8th Avenues ; also 
along 7th, 8th and 9th Avenues, between 15th and 23d Streets. 

George Bancroft lived and wrote (1850-67) at 17 \V. 21st Street. 

B. Chelsea. 

23. Chelsea is the name applied to that part of the city between 8th 
Avenue, the Hudson, 19th and 24th Streets. It was named for the home- 
stead of Captain Clarke, a veteran of the French and Indian Wars, whose 
house was built in 1750 about 200 west of the present 9th Avenue between 
22d and 23d Streets, the grounds running down to the river, which then 
came nearly to loth Avenue. It was named for the soldiers' home near 
London, and was rebuilt by " Mistress Molly Clarke," who lived here until 
1802. Her daughter married Bishop Moore, whose son Clement C. Moore 



10 

lived here until 1850. While here, in 1822, he wrote the familiar poem 
'* A Visit from St. Nicholas," 

"'Twas the night before Christmas," etc. 

Through his agency streets were opened through this property in 181 3. 
The old house was torn down in 1852-3, when the bluffs on the river shore 
were leveled and the shore line extended west. 

24. London Terrace, the familiar row of tall pilastered houses with deep 
front yards on 23d Street, erected 1845 by Wm. Torrey when this was a 
fashionable residence quarter. At 436 W. 22d Street is the old mansion 
once the home of Edwin Forrest and little altered since his time. 

25. Chelsea Cottages, a row of small houses with little front yards on 
W. 24th Street, built about 1845. 

26. Chelsea Square, the block between 20th and 21st Streets and 9th 
and loth Avenues on which are the buildings of the General Theological 
Seminary. The land was given by C. C. Moore, and the West Building 
(still standing) was erected 1835. The square with its green lawns, 
quadrangles and ivy-covered buildings, the library, chapel and refectory, 
are well worth a visit. 

27. St. Peter's Church, on 20th Street, east of 9th Avenue, was built 
1836-8 on land given by C. C. Moore. See within tablets to Moore 
and Dr. Hugh Smith. The rectory, just west, was the original St. Peter's 
Chapel. 

28. 112 9th Avenue, an old house with outside stairs reached through 
a rear alley which originally faced a road used as a short cut from Green- 
wich Village to Chelsea. 

29. Site of the Wolfe Monument at the head of old Monument Lane 
(now Greenwich Avenue), erected in honor of the hero of Quebec. 

C. Outlying Points. 

Tablet on an isle-of-safety at 22d Street and 12th Avenue to mark the 
"Chelsea Improvement," a great system of new docks not yet completed 
and meant to accommodate the largest merchant vessels afloat. 

The whole shore line is being improved, entire blocks of buildings hav- 
ing been demolished to make way for modern warehouses and the new 
streets which are being constructed along the river front. 

The Arsenal at 7th Ave. and 35lh Street contains relics of the French 
and Indian War, the Revolution, the War of 181 2, and the Civil War. See 
also tablets removed from the old Elm Street Armory. 



II 

Section IV: Murray Hill to Central Park. 

Murray Hill is the height between 34th and 426 Sts. and was named 
for Robert Murray, a loyalist during the Revolution, whose wife, Mary 
Lindley, by a clever stratagem delayed Howe (Sept. 15, 1776) in his pursuit 
of Washington. The Murray estate was called Incleberg, and extended 
between 33d and 37th Sts., from the Boston to the Bloomingdale Road. 
The site of the house is marked by a tablet, erected by the Knickerbocker 
Chapter of the D. A. R., on a boulder in the park space at 37th Street and 
4th Avenue, where the house stood until 1834. 

The cornfield, where Washington tried to rally the American troops, 
was on the Murray farm, somewhere between the Grand Central Station 
and Bryant Park, 

Bryant Park (so called in 1884, but originally known as Reservoir 
Square) was bought by the city in 1822 and used as a Potters' Field until, in 
1842, it became the site of the first distributing reservoir of the Croton 
Aqueduct, now torn down to make way for the New York Public Library. 
In the western part of the park stood the Crystal Palace, where, ini 853, was 
held the first World's Fair in America. 

Tablet on the east side of Madison Ave., between 49th and 50th Streets, 
marks the site of Columbia College, which was moved here from College 
Place in 1857. The Elgin Botanical Garden, founded in 1801 by Dr. 
Hosack, Professor of Botany in Columbia, occupied the blocks between 
47th and 51st Streets and west nearly to 6th Ave., on land given Columbia 
by the State, to make good the claims of the college to a New Hampshire 
township. Two English yews once occupying the garden were trans- 
planted to the new site at Morningside Heights. (Tablet lately re- 
moved.) 

Tablet on the Collegiate Church at 48th St. and 5th Ave., to commem- 
orate its connection with the "Church in the Fort." Within may be seen 
a tablet erected by the D. A. R. to honor the soldiers and sailors of the 
Revolution, in the tower is the bell which originally hung in the Middle 
Church in Nassau Street. See also No. 18, p. 8. 

Columbus Column at the Circle, 8th Ave. and 59th Street, presented to 
the city by Italian citizens at the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the 
discovery of America. 

Central Park, planned in 1851 and laid out by " the Commissioners of 
Central Park " in 1859, Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux execut- 
ing the plans. The park contains many statues of famous men, and 
Cleopatra's Needle, presented in 1877 by the Khedive of Egypt. 



LcmC. 



12 

In the Metropolitan Museum of Art may be seen a fine series of 
historical prints of great Americans, and in the Museum of Natural 
History there is a large collection of Indian relics excavated in Inwood^ 
the Bronx and Staten Island. 

For complete descriptions of the park see Alden's " Manhattan His- 
toric and Artistic," Appleton's "Dictionary of N. Y.," and other guide 
books, besides catalogues obtained at the museums. 

Section V : Along the Bloomingdale Road. 

The Bloomingdale Road was laid out about 1700 and ran along the 
lines of Broadway and the Boulevard, through Bloomingdale Village (named 
for Bloemendael " the dale of tlowers " near Haarlem in Holland) to Man- 
hattanville. Bloomingdale extended from 21st to looth Streets and was a 
favorite suburban section ; but few of the old mansions survive. 

The American army retreated on September 15, 1776, along this road 
to Harlem Heights. See tablet at 1497 Broadway, between 43d and 44th 
Streets, erected by the Sons of the American Revolution to commemorate 
the meeting of Washington and Putnam on this eventful day. 

Van Uer Heuvel House at West End Avenue and 79th Street was built 
about 1792 by the Governor of Demerara, and during the Revolution was 
used as a tavern, known as Burnham's Mansion House. The two lower 
stories of stone are part of the original building, the upper story having 
been burnt in 1792. 

The Statue of Washing'ton at 89th Street and Riverside Drive was pre- 
sented to the city by the children of the public schools. Just north is 
The Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument erected by the city to honor the 
heroes of the Civil War. 

St. 3Iicliaers Episcopal Church at 99th Street and Amsterdam Avenue 
stands on the site of the old wooden church erected in 1805 and rebuilt in 
1854. 

The Furniss House, formerly " Ann Rogers," at 99th Street and River- 
side Drive, is a fine old colonial mansion. See, also, the DePeyster House 
at 114th Street and Amsterdam Avenue and the Corrigan House at River- 
side Drive and 114th Street. 

Statues of Washington and Lafayette in Lafayette Square, at the 
junction of Morningside and Manhattan Avenues, near 1 14th Street, the 
gift of C. B. Rouss. 



13 

Section VI : The Upper East Side. 
(The numbers refer to Map No. ii, p. i6.) 

30. Site of Artillery Park, 45th Street and ist Avenue; scene of the 
execution of Nathan Hale (see Johnston's " Nathan Hale "). 

Turtle B.ay is a rocky cove on the shore of which stood an old store- 
house where the British kept military supplies. These were captured in 
1773 by a band of Liberty Boys under John Lamb and Marinus Willett. 
Fortifications occupied this spot during the two wars with England. The 
British landed at Kip's Bay, foot of E. 34th Street, when they captured the 
Island of Manhattan ; the old Kip House, built over 250 years ago, re- 
mained here until about 50 years ago. 

31. The Beekmaii House stood on Beekman Hill, between 51st and 
52d .Streets, west of ist Avenue, where P. S. 135 now stands. It was 
built in 1763 by Wm. Beekman and became the headquarters of Howe, 
Clinton and Carleton. In a greenhouse on the grounds Hale was tried as 
a spy and here Andre received his final instructions before going noith to 
meet Arnold. The house was torn down in 1874, but one of its mantels 
and some of the Dutch Scripture tiles may be seen in the rooms of the 
N. Y. Historical Society. Odellville was the name applied to a hamlet of 
sixty years ago lying in the region of 3d Avenue and 49th Street. From it a 
long lane led to the country house of Horace Greeley on the East River 
shore. 

32. The De Yoor Farmhouse, built about 200 years ago, stands at the 
foot of E. 53d Street. The Spring Valley Farm was granted in 1677 by 
Gov. Andros to David Duffore or DeVoor. It was later called the Odell 
Arden, and Brevoort estate. It is a good example of substantial Dutch 
architecture and one of the oldest buildings in the city. Near it stands a 
shot tower, built by Mr. Youle in 1821 (succeeding the old tower of 
Revolutionary days), and was used during the Civil War. 

33. The Brevoort House, another house of Dutch style, but much 
later than the De Voor House (after 1800), stands near the foot of E. 54th 
Street. "Cannon Point" was the name given to the projection into the 
East River of E. 55th Street. From this point may be obtained a good 
view of the dangerous rocks and eddies of the East River and of the south 
end of Blackwell's Island, called in Indian days Minnahanonck or Long 
Island and later Manning's Island. The island was granted to Captain 
John Manning, who was Sheriff of New York City in 1664. Because of his 
disgraceful surrender of the city to the Dutch in 1673 his sword was 
broken and he spent some years in retirement in his " castle " on the 
island. He left it to his step-daughter, who married Robert Blackwell, and 



14 

in 1828 the city bought it for $50,000. Passes to visit the island may be 
obtained from the Department of Charities and Correction. 

34. 4th Milestone at 57th Street and 3d Avenue. 

35. Smith's Folly, a quaint old mansion near the terminal of the new 
Blackwell's Island Bridge, 421 E. 6ist Street. It was built as a stable in 
1799 (see date on rear wall) by Col. Wm. S. Smith, son-in-law of Presi- 
dent John Adams. After Smith's failure it was used as a tavern until 
1830, when it was bought by Jeremiah Towle, City Surveyor, and is 
still occupied by his daughters. Across the street are two old residences, 
one occupied by the Female Guardian Society Industrial School. 

36. The Schermerhorii Farmhouse (built about 1747), at the foot of 
E. 64th Street, was the summer home of Gov. George Clinton and a 
favorite resort of Washington. This house and 

37. The Jones' Chapel and graveyard, just north, are about to give way 
to the new buildings of the Rockefeller Institute of Medical Research. 
The Chapel was used as a house of worship a hundred years ago, and in 
the graveyard are buried the Hardenbrooks, Adamses and other families 
of the neighborhood. The river shore here is as bold and rocky as it was 
in the early days. Here the Pastime Club (" Indians ") had their athletic 
grounds until recently. 

38. Jones' Wood, north of 70th Street, was part of the 90-acre farm 
(from 66th to 75th Streets) originally owned by the Provoost family. 
Samuel Provoost became the first Bishop of New York and was a presi- 
dent of Columbia College. His cousin, David Provoost. was a Revolu- 
tionary soldier who became a pirate ("Ready Money Provoost") and hid 
his ill-gotten gains in the " Smugglers' Cave " on the shore of this farm 
or in a cave at Hallets' Point, Astoria. The old Jones family vault dis- 
appeared in 1858 from the foot of E. 71st Street. The Jones family 
acquired this property about 1803, and later Jones' Wood became a popu- 
lar picnic resort. It was originally chosen as the site for Central Park. 

39. The 5th IVIilestone is at 77th Street and 3rd Avenue, where a Kiss- 
ing Bridge crossed the Saw-Kill. 

Yorkville was a village on the old Post Road between 83rd and 89th 
Streets, 4th and 2nd Avenues, by some so considered from 59th to looth 
Street, the old Hell Gate Ferry being then at the foot of 86th Street. 74th 
Street was the south boundary of the old " Town of Harlem." 

40. The Gracie House in East River Park stands on what was known 
in early days as 

41. Horn's Hook (its first owner, Siebert Classen, coming from Hoorn, 
Holland), and later as Rhinelander's or Observation Point, where batteries 



15 

were placed during the two wars with England. The house was built by 
Archibald Gracie about i8i3,and Washington Irving was a frequent visitor 
here and at the Astor House, which stood just south. 

Some of the trees in the park were sent from Japan and China. 

42. The Prime House at 89th Street and Avenue A is now one of the 
buildings of St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum ; some of its old fireplaces and 
mantels are preserved, and from its upper balcony may be obtained a fine 
view of Hell Gate (see 44). 

43. The Latimer House, built about 1780, at 91st Street and ist Ave- 
nue, is now in the grounds of the Old Homestead Garden and is used by 
the Musical Benefit Union. 

See the 7th Milestoue at 117th Street and 3rd Avenue. 

44. Hell Gate (" clear " or " bright pass ") is at the junction of the Harlem 
and East Riv^ers, and, owing to hidden rocks and conflicting tides, is even 
yet dangerous for small craft, although many rocks have been removed 
by the government. The great work of exploding these reefs was begun 
in 1869-76, and completed in 1885. Among its features are Pot Rock, the 
Devil's Frying Pan, Flood Rock, Hog's Back, Nigger Head and Gridiron. 
A description of the strait is given in the Labadist Journal. Mill Rock, 
or Leland Island, 0))posite 93d Street, used to be known as " Sandy 
Gibson's," a favorite stopping place for fishermen. Here in 181 2 a block- 
house was built for the defense of the city. 

Ward's Island (also called Great Barent, Barn or Buchanan's Island) 
lies north of Hell Gate. It was bought by VanTwiller from the Indians 
and used by him as a pasture. In 1776 it was occupied by the British, 
who here established a camp. After the Revolution it was divided 
into farms, and in 1812 a cotton mill was built and a bridge connected 
the island with 114th Street. In 1840 it became the Potter's Field, 100,000 
bodies being brought here from Bryant Park (see Section IV). 

Haudall's Island (Belle Isle, Little Barent or Montressor's Island) is 
separated from Ward's Island by Little Hell Gate. Here in 1776 250 
Americans were defeated in an attempt to capture a British force. Jona- 
than Randel bought the island in 1784 for £2/\ and sold it to the 
city in 1835 for $50,000. The mstitutions on these two islands may be 
visited on a pass from the Department of Charities. 



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MAP No. II : THE UPPER EAST SIDE. 

To Illustrate Excursion No. V, Section VI. 

(Adapted from i.ooo foot scale map of Manhattan, bv courtesy of August 

R. Ohman, Map Publisher and Engineer, 97 Warren St.. N. Y. Cuy.) 



17 



By CHARLES HEMSTREET 

Nooks and Corners of Old New York 

Illustrated by Ernest C. Peixotto, I2mo, $2,00 

"We do not recall so much information about the city of the 
past told in so little space as in this book." — Brooklyn Eagle. 

When Old New York Was Young 

Illustrated. J2mo. $L50 net 

Mr. Hemstreet knows his old New York as few others, and he 
writes of it most attractively." — The Churchman. 

By J. H. INNES 

New Amsterdam and Its People 

Illustrated. 8vo. $2.50 net 

" Very vivid pictures of the old city . . . packed with infor- 
mation." — N. V. Tribune. 



CHARLES SCRIBNERS SONS - - NEW YORK 



i8 

PUBLICATIONS OF THE CITY HISTORY CLUB. 

Syllabus of a Course of Study on the History of New York, with sug- 
gestive questions on the Dutch Period. lo cents. 

BibHography of the Dutch Period. lo cents. 

CityHistory Club Leaflet No. i, " An Early Excise Law ; The Currency 
of New Amsterdam " (translations of early Dutch laws). 5 cents. 

City History Club Map of New York in the English Period. 5 cents. 

Club Song (old edition). 5 cents; new edition, illustrated, 35 cents. 

Historical Postal Cards. Series I and H. 10 cents per set of 5 each. 

Syllabus of a Course of Lectures on New York City. 25 cents. 

Teacher's Handbook : Lessons on Local Geography, History and Gov- 
ernment. 25 cents. , 

HISTORICAL EXCURSION LEAFLETS, 30 Cents per Set. 
5 cents each. 

No. I.— City Hall to Wall Street. 

No. H. — Greenwich Village and Lispenard's Meadows. 

No. HL — The Bowery and East Side. 

No. IV. — Central Park to Van Cortlandt Park. 

No. V. — The 19th Century City: 14th Street to i loth Street. 

No. VI. — Fraunces' Tavern. 

No. VII. — South of Wall Street (Revised 1905, with new maps). 

No. VIII.— Historic Brooklyn. 

CLUB GAME.— 25 cents. 

ILLUSTRATIONS.— The Club pubhshes 45 small pictures of the 
famous men, buildings and events of local history. 25 cents per set. 

ILLUSTRATED LECTURES on City History and Government maybe 
arranged for children or adults at from ^3.00 to $10.00 per lecture plus 
lantern expenses. Rej^ular CLisses may also be arranged. 

LANTERN SLIDES to illustrate local history and government may be 
hired at $2.00 per set. They should be ordered ten days in advance, and 
may be kept three days. The Club has recently acquired several hundred 
rare views, the gift of Ex-Mayor Low. 

HISTORICAL GUIDES may be secured, the price ranging according 
lo the size of the party and the distance covered, the minimum fee being 
!:?3.oo. 

Address City History Club, 23 W. 44th St. 
Office hours : 

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, 3-5 p. M., November to May. 

(Q-751C) 

LBJL '05 



4 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

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